But playing the second night of a back-to-back, and their star player not 100 percent, the Warriors didn't have enough to pull it off. They saw their four-game winning streak end with a 113-109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
The Warriors weren't sure if they would have guard Monta Ellis until close to game time. But after warm-ups, Ellis decided to give it a go. He clearly wasn't the same. He finished with 17 points on 6-for-21 shooting with four assists and five turnovers.
But Curry answered the bell, scoring 23 of his 32 points in the second half. He also had eight assists and six rebounds.
Curry, who had 34 in Friday night's win over Sacramento, scored at least 30 points in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Forward David Lee had 16 points and 15 rebounds. Forward Dorell Wright scored half his 14 points in the fourth quarter, and swingman Reggie Williams had 16 off the bench.
But in the end, Blake Griffin and the Clippers were too much. The rookie power forward finished with 30 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. Clippers guard Eric Gordon had 23 points.
It was just enough to stave off a late rally by the Warriors, who spent most of the night fighting from behind to make the game close. Each time they did, the Clippers would surge back ahead.
Curry knocked down three straight jumpers, the last a 3-pointer,
to cut the Clippers' lead to 67-63 with 9:58 left in the third. But barely two minutes later, the Warriors' deficit was back to 11 points.
The Warriors got it down to 84-82 in the final seconds of the third quarter, after Curry followed a layup with a steal that led to an Ellis jumper. Golden State trailed by four entering the fourth quarter.
As was the patten all game. Los Angeles replenished its lead. The Clippers led 102-92 after a 3-pointer by point guard Baron Davis at the 5:05 mark. But Golden State needed just a couple of minutes to get back within striking distance. A Lee free throw, an Ellis layup and a Curry 3-pointer cut the deficit to 102-98 in a blink. The Warriors were again within a couple of baskets.
A Wright 3-pointer at the 2:04 mark cut the Warriors' deficit to 103-101. Los Angeles forward Ryan Gomes followed with a jumper, but Curry answered with one of his own.
After a defensive stop, Wright got to the free throw line and tied the score at 105.
The Warriors' defense forced the Clippers into a tough spot -- the ball out of bounds on the side with two seconds left on the shot clock. But Griffin nailed a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, putting Los Angeles up 108-105.
Wright drew a foul, knocking down both free throws. The Warriors turned to the intentional foul game, and it worked as guard Randy Foye missed one. But Wright had the rebound stripped and the Clippers recovered. From that point on, Los Angeles was perfect from the free throw line to keep the Warriors at bay.
The Warriors lost control of a back-and-forth game with a meltdown at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors trailed 23-22 with 1:57 left after an Ellis jumper. That was the Warriors' last basket of the first quarter.
The Clippers ran off an 11-0 run, including eight points in the final 40 seconds. Clippers forward Ike Diogu converted a putback and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Los Angeles rookie forward Al-Farouq Aminu got the rebound and drew a foul.
After he knocked down both free throws, he picked off a pass from Ellis and got a fast-break dunk out of it. Then, after Ellis missed a jumper, Diogu converted another putback just before the buzzer.
The Warriors trailed 34-22 entering the second quarter. The deficit got as high as 14 before the Warriors made a surge of their own. Williams got it started with back-to-back jumpers, the latter a 3-pointer, followed by a 3-pointer from Wright. Just like that, the lead was down to six, 49-43. A couple of minutes later, a three-point play by Lee cut the deficit to 53-51.
But once again, the Clippers closed the quarter with a run. It was 58-54 when Gordon converted a three-point play to get it started. He capped it with free throws, sending the Warriors into the half down 65-56.
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